Below are the MLA's guidelines for citing a work of art, including a painting, a sculpture, a lithograph, a photograph, or other similar work.
1. Artist's last name, artist's first name. If the artist is unknown (as might be the case with a traditional work of art or with a historical artifact from a museum), simply begin your citation with the title.
2. Title of work (in italics). If there is no title, provide a brief description of the item, enclosed in square brackets.
3. Date of composition (if the date is unknown, use the abbreviation n.d.; if the date is uncertain, use c. for circa, as in the first example below)
4. Medium of composition (Lithograph, Bronze, Oil on canvas, Graphite on paper, Photograph)
5. Name of the museum or other institution that houses the work. If the work is in a private collection, use "Collection of. . . ." If the collector is unknown, or prefers to remain anonymous, use Private Collection.
6. Provide the name of the city where the institution or collection is located, if applicable. If the collector is anonymous, do not include a city name.
Examples:
Fragonard, Jean-Honore. The Pancake Maker. [c.1782]. Brown wash over graphite on paper. J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
Heckman, Albert. Windblown Trees. N.d. Lithograph on paper. Private collection.
Sargent, John Singer. The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit. 1882. Oil on canvas. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
[Guitar, probably from Naples, Italy]. [c. 1800]. Spruce, ebony, ivory and tortoiseshell. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
REPRODUCTION FROM A BOOK
When you are citing a reproduction of a work of art, your reference will be slightly different. Here, you will not include the medium of composition. Instead, add the complete publication information for the source in which the reproduction appears. Make sure that you include a page, slide, figure, or plate number (whichever is relevant). At the end of your citation, you will indicate the medium of reproduction (in these examples, print.)
Examples:
Eakins, Thomas. Spinning. 1881. Private collection, Thomas Eakins. Ed. Darrel Sewell. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art in assn. with Yale UP, 2001. Plate 91. Print.
Kahlo, Frida. Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace. 1940. Art Collection, Henry Ransom Research Center, University of Texas at Austin. History of Art. 5th ed. By H.W. Janson and Anthony F. Janson. New York: Harry Abrams, 1997. Plate 1063. Print.
[Cover of the coffin of Tutankhamen]. [c. 1327 B.C.E.]. Egyptian Museum, Cairo. History of Art. 5th ed. By H.W. Janson and Anthony F. Janson. New York: Harry Abrams, 1997. Plate 82. Print.
FROM THE INTERNET
The Web presents images (still and moving) and sound as well as written text. It is sometimes important to indicate that a source online is available in another medium besides print. If you viewed a digitized version of a film on the Web, for example, you may want to include in your entry the details usually cited for a film. To document sources such as these, begin the entry by following the recommendations in 5.7, but drop the medium of original publication (e.g., Television, Photograph). Conclude the entry with the following items:
Title of the database or Web site (italicized).
Medium of publication (Web)
Date of access (day, month, and year)
Example from MLA Handbook, pg 189 5.6.2d
Currin, John. Blond Angel. 2001. Indianapolis Museum of Art. IMA: It's My Art. Web 9 May 2007.
The Great Train Robbery. Dir Edward Porter. Thomas Edison, 1903. Internet Archive. Web. 5 June 2008.
A great source for MLA questions:
http://libguides.trumbull.kent.edu/content.php?pid=333150&sid=2725165A WORK OF ART
Below are the MLA's guidelines for citing a work of art, including a painting, a sculpture, a lithograph, a photograph, or other similar work.
1. Artist's last name, artist's first name. If the artist is unknown (as might be the case with a traditional work of art or with a historical artifact from a museum), simply begin your citation with the title.
2. Title of work (in italics). If there is no title, provide a brief description of the item, enclosed in square brackets.
3. Date of composition (if the date is unknown, use the abbreviation n.d.; if the date is uncertain, use c. for circa, as in the first example below)
4. Medium of composition (Lithograph, Bronze, Oil on canvas, Graphite on paper, Photograph)
5. Name of the museum or other institution that houses the work. If the work is in a private collection, use "Collection of. . . ." If the collector is unknown, or prefers to remain anonymous, use Private Collection.
6. Provide the name of the city where the institution or collection is located, if applicable. If the collector is anonymous, do not include a city name.
Examples:
Fragonard, Jean-Honore. The Pancake Maker. [c.1782]. Brown wash over graphite on paper. J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
Heckman, Albert. Windblown Trees. N.d. Lithograph on paper. Private collection.
Sargent, John Singer. The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit. 1882. Oil on canvas. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
[Guitar, probably from Naples, Italy]. [c. 1800]. Spruce, ebony, ivory and tortoiseshell. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
REPRODUCTION FROM A BOOK
When you are citing a reproduction of a work of art, your reference will be slightly different. Here, you will not include the medium of composition. Instead, add the complete publication information for the source in which the reproduction appears. Make sure that you include a page, slide, figure, or plate number (whichever is relevant). At the end of your citation, you will indicate the medium of reproduction (in these examples, print.)
Examples:
Eakins, Thomas. Spinning. 1881. Private collection, Thomas Eakins. Ed. Darrel Sewell. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art in assn. with Yale UP, 2001. Plate 91. Print.
Kahlo, Frida. Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace. 1940. Art Collection, Henry Ransom Research Center, University of Texas at Austin. History of Art. 5th ed. By H.W. Janson and Anthony F. Janson. New York: Harry Abrams, 1997. Plate 1063. Print.
[Cover of the coffin of Tutankhamen]. [c. 1327 B.C.E.]. Egyptian Museum, Cairo. History of Art. 5th ed. By H.W. Janson and Anthony F. Janson. New York: Harry Abrams, 1997. Plate 82. Print.
FROM THE INTERNET
The Web presents images (still and moving) and sound as well as written text. It is sometimes important to indicate that a source online is available in another medium besides print. If you viewed a digitized version of a film on the Web, for example, you may want to include in your entry the details usually cited for a film. To document sources such as these, begin the entry by following the recommendations in 5.7, but drop the medium of original publication (e.g., Television, Photograph). Conclude the entry with the following items:
Example from MLA Handbook, pg 189 5.6.2d
Currin, John. Blond Angel. 2001. Indianapolis Museum of Art. IMA: It's My Art. Web 9 May 2007.
The Great Train Robbery. Dir Edward Porter. Thomas Edison, 1903. Internet Archive. Web. 5 June 2008.
from: http://libguides.trumbull.kent.edu